Data Center Timeline Shows Race to Deregulate
Months of secret planning was followed by a burst of legislative maneuvering
A close look at the timeline of the proposed data center near Davis and Thomas shows months of secret planning for the facility, and then a rapid burst of activity in the West Virginia legislature to pass legislation favorable to the industry.
Public records indicate that planning for the local data center and its own private power plant go back at least to July 2024 and proceeded behind the scenes until March of this year. Then, in just 25 days, state legislators introduced the so-called microgrid bill, amended it multiple times in both chambers, and cleared it for the governor’s signature on the last day of this year’s legislative session.
The following timeline was obtained from Fundamental Data’s air quality permit application, West Virginia land and business records, Delaware business records, and interviews with officials involved in the process.
2024
April 18, 2024 and June 18, 2024. An entity named “Fundamental Data LLC” registers with Delaware’s Division of Corporations on April 18, 2024. Another business named “Fundamental Data WV LLC” registers in Delaware on June 18, 2024. It’s unclear whether either or both of these businesses are the same entity pursuing the data center project in Tucker County.
Delaware is a popular state for businesses to incorporate because it permits a high level of corporate secrecy, among other reasons. The state allows companies to register anonymously, without providing any names or contact information, by using a “registered agent,” which is what Fundamental Data and Fundamental Data WV did.
July 16, 2024. Fundamental Data LLC, a company chartered in Delaware, is authorized by West Virginia to do business in the state. The listed officers are “Prism Fundamental LLC” and “Emerick LLC,” both of which list the same address in Virginia as Fundamental Data.
July 19, 2024. Fundamental Data executes a purchase agreement for the proposed site adjacent to the Tucker County landfill. While the seller of the land isn’t identified, state records indicate the parcel is or was owned by Western Pocahontas Properties, the largest private landowner in the region.
October 22 and 23, 2024. Western Pocahontas officials make public presentations in Thomas and Davis outlining local plans for new houses and apartments, recreation facilities, an urgent care facility, and more. However, Western Pocahontas officials make no mention of a data center or a private power plant despite the land sale agreement for the data center signed three months earlier.
2025
February 24, 2025. West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner issues a “Certificate of Authorization” stating that Fundamental Data is authorized to do business in the state. A copy of that authorization certificate was subsequently included in Fundamental Data’s air quality permit application.
March 18, 2025. Fundamental Data quietly submits a heavily redacted air quality permit application for a “Ridgeline Facility” near Davis and Thomas. The application is filed with the Division of Air Quality at the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
March 18, 2025. HB 2014 is introduced in the West Virginia state legislature. That “microgrid” bill would allow companies to build their own sources of energy for data centers, and block local efforts to regulate or reject such developments. The bill as introduced would have diverted all new property taxes generated by these facilities to the state.
March 26, 2025. Fundamental Data publishes a required legal notice in the Parsons Advocate. The notice lists pollutants that Fundamental Data intends to discharge, but it makes no mention of a data center or power plant.
March 27, 2025. The House of Delegates Energy and Public Works Committee passes HB 2014.
April 1, 2025. The House of Delegates passes HB 2014, 88-12.
April 2, 2025. Country Roads News publishes the first of a series of articles about the proposed data center near Davis and Thomas. Another article on April 8 reports that local officials are angry that the bill would divert all local property taxes generated by data centers to the state.
April 8, 2025. Under pressure from local elected officials, the Senate Economic Development Committee amends HB 2014 to allow counties to keep about a third of the property tax revenue generated by data centers, quieting some local opposition to the bill.
April 11, 2025. The state Senate passes HB 2014, 32-1, with amendments.
April 12, 2025. In one of its last acts on the last day of the 2025 legislative session, the West Virginia Senate and House of Delegates vote overwhelmingly to pass the final version of HB 2014. The bill awaits Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s signature.
April 25, 2025. The mandatory period for the WV Department of Environmental Protection to accept written or emailed comments regarding Fundamental Data’s air quality permit expires.
Wow- thank you for this insightful piece.
Great job- this is a perfect example of real journalism.